The Star. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 1895. To-Day.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5348, 28 August 1895, Page 2

The Star. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 1895. To-Day.

Befeebing to the Licensed Victuallers' Association in our issue of July 22, we wrote as follows : — " The publicans as a body would do well to «et their houses in order forthwith. We have reason to believe that at a comparatively recent meeting of the Licensed Victuallers' Association one member strongly urged the rest to rigorously comply with the law. * * * ' Ia it too much to hope that the Association may become an organisation for conserving the interests of the trade in the truest and beat sense ?" And more to the same effect. In this iesue we publish the letter wherein the President of the Association resigns his position. That resignation is a matter which concerns the members; but the reasons for the resignation concern the public very much indeed. Mr Burke says : — " I have endeavoured to urge members to respect the law and give up illicit trading and conduct their business in a manner which, to my mind, wonld be the best means of cutting the ground from. the feet of our opponents." He also says: — 'I am attacked, for the sake of greed of gain, on account of my trying to do everything in my power to prevent Sunday and illicit trading, for I honestly believe and fearlessly assert that it will he on this rock that the trade will perish." The passages that ere have italicised contain the crux of the matter, and are of immense importance.

Instead of profiting by the lesson? of experience, instead of "setting their houses in order," the .members of the Licensed Victuallers' Association have gob themselves into the fatal position of " a house divided against itself." Every* body knows, as Mr Burke is careful to say, there are many genuine and good men in the trade—men who are really anxious not only to conduct their hotels respectably, but to stringently comply with every enactment of the Legislature. Unfortunately the picture has its reverse. There are houses wherein the patronage of most undesirable persona ia tacitly encouraged ; wherein drink can be had without let or hindrance, after the hour for closing, and all day on Sunday. But the point that we specially wish to bring into prominence is this : Here we have a deliberate statement made by the president of the Licensed Victuallers' Association, a man who above all others must know perfectly well what he is talking about, and upon what*an unwholesome mass of facts his utterance is based. Without "if or but" he declares that in Christchuroh "Sunday acd illicit trading" is deliberately carried on. We ask the Premier, in the name of the public, to take this matter in hand at once. He is now authoritatively assured that the licensing laws are deliberately broken every day in the week. Therefore it becomes his imperative dnty to issue such instructions to the police as will, at anyrate, be calculated to fill the minds oE the evil-doers with a wholesome fear.

Our weekly contemporary, the Canter' bury Times, is doing good service by producing illustrated chapters concerning the history of New Zealand. In this week's ißßue, for example —an advance copy having been, placed at our disposal — we find a four-page supplement devoted to t'The Early Days of Otago," and giving, in a crisp, concise form, just half a century of history. It is a happy thing, for the public, that modern processes make the reproduction of photographs an easy thing, and enable them to look at the faces of the men of whom they are reading, or at the scenes that are being described. The very first illustration is a notable example of what can be done nowadays. It is a portrait of Captain Cargill— a name of renown in Otagan annals — taken from an old Daguerreotype. Yet, though photographing from an old silverbase photograph must have presented no slight technical difficulty, the result is eminently satisfactory, and many an old settler will look upon it with emotional feelings. Other faces are those of B the 11 genial " Vincent Pyke, and Dr Stuart, the loved divine. The historic pictures include a reproduction of High Street, Dunedin, as it appeared in 1859; and Prince 3 Street, a tagrag-andibobfcail collection of shanties, photographed by Messrs Burton in 1860. We heartily congratulate our contemporary upon the success of its historic efforts, which have a distinct educational value.

It was perfectly natural that yesterday evening's pitting oJ Parliament should attract a phenomenally large attendance of Wellington folk, for it had been generally understood that the committee on the affairs of the Bank of New Zealand would present its report, and that the recommendations contained in that report would be warmly debated. There was disappointment in store for members and public alike. In each Chamber a brief- statement waß made, to the effect, that certain matter was being printed, that the report would be presented to Parliament at 2.30 to-day, and that the debate would certainly not be taken before 7.30. In the Legislative Council the second reading of the Servants Registry Offices Bill was

agreed to, and the Counties Act Amendment Bill, and two local Bills were forwarded. In the House of Representatives, a number of questions having been answered, the Fencing Bill was discussed in Committee, read a third time and passed. The debate on the motion for the second reading of the Betterments Bill waa begun, the principle involved in the measure being that in the future construction of railways the enhauced value of the land shall beneiit the State. Tbe House rose at the comparatively early hour of eleven o'clock.